The CHICKEN MATH Contest- Who has the worst case?

[ChickenPresence]

I feel so seen reading all these wonderful posts! My partner and I are in our 3rd year of poultry frolics. The math goes like this. Started with 9 hens and over the following year lost 5 ( neighbor dog, fox and mystery illness). Replaced those with 8 more. Added a hen and roo from poultry show. So up to 14. Lost one from a hawk ( you should see the labrynth of fishing line over the coop run now! It works!!)
The one who was lost,Mrs. Patmore, was replaced by 3, a trip to the feed store brought 2 more and a grand total of 18.

One was found dead in coop, now down to 17.

Early this Spring Daisey went broody so I put 4 fertilized eggs from a friend's flock under her. One hatched out so am thinking about friends for the new baby.....

Rooster must go. They are not legal in my county and one neighbor is making a fuss. I did consider selling our home that we just finished a year long renovation, after neighbor forced the rooster removal.

So according to the laws of chicken math I should replace him with 3-4 more! Looks like another "innocent trip" to the feed store....

To sum it up - chicken math law : start with a few, lose one replace with several. Each reduction is replaced with even more and watch your flock grow exponentially!
Now at 18 and ..???
My case is moderate with 0% chance of a cure. The telling sign was my daughter googling my name while with friends the other day just to see what came up. Stephanie said" I'll bet a chicken pic comes up and sure enough...
A photo of Helen popped up

 

[phoenixrises]

Ok - so I started researching chickens when I realized we go the 5acres I wanted. Originally thinking 3-4 hens to keep us in eggs. But then decided more eggs and meat chickens made sense for us. So I started the journey wanting 3-4 hens and I just placed my first order (for late July delivery) of 25 straight run DP. I plan to add to that next year!

 

[shmccarthy]

I wanted: 12 hens, no roosters

I got: 24 layer hens, two roosters. I also have about 12 bantams, a few of which are cockerels. And I've decided to hatch eggs now. Ooops

It definitely didn't help that tractor supply kept running 50% off sales and "buy 6 get 6 free!" On the chicks...

 

[maryhysong]

In March of 2012 I bought 4 hens and a roo. Currently I have lost count of how many birds, exactly I have, with eating some, hatching some, selling some, ect. Somewhere between 75 and 120..... The ducks are more contained and easier. 22 of them with some broody scovies due next month

 

[QuirkySue]

I think I'd be severe if I lived somewhere else. Only allowed 99 layers,or 200 starts, so at least there's a limit to chicken math.

I started with 4 last August. Now I have 11layers, 11 juvies, 24 from Easter, and 8 from Cinco de Mayo. Oh and 12 eggs sitting under two broody girls.

We are going to process a few in a couple months so I put my name on a waiting list for 24 Cream Legbar eggs

 

[NosiphoChooks]

Was meant to be getting 4 hens for the garden, I started out with: 1 BO, 1 white sussex, 3 cream legbars. 2 of the legbars turned out to be boys (breeder didnt have a clue!) and the third one who was a hen got mareks and died. Then the white sussex died randomly, one day it was running around the next dead in the run! So I only had one hen and two roos. Did a part exchange for the roosters and ended up with a bluebell and a black rock to go with my BO.

Then the bluebell died (the other two were plucking and bullying her) So not I only had two! So went out and bought two araucanas which also turned out to be boys! Gave one of them back and kept one so now I was only up to 3 chickens! The guy who I took the roo back too gave me a silky and an odd black bantam pullet as a consolation. Now up to 5!

Then I went a bit crazy and within a week bought 2 millefleurs pekins and 2 frizzled tolbunt polish hens! By now my backyard flock was looking very colourful! I bought an incubator and set 10 polish eggs, 6 hatched out and are now at 4 weeks and outside most of the time! Then my BO and silky both went broody! they have hatched another 6 chicks between them! So that brings me up to.....

15 and I was meant to have 4!!

However now I am TOTALLY ADDICTED I've got 4 seperate pens set up and am going to split off my polish and pekins and have a seperate place for all my layers! Going to start some breeding and selling programmes.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Okay here's my chicken math...and honestly it is fuzzy...

Wanted 4 chicks, got 4 chicks, 4 years ago...oh no...the chicken coop burned down in winter...lost all hens and all sense of math.

Badly disappointed, hubby sweetly rebuilds the coop. Spring chicks arrive at the feed store. We decided 6 chickens would be better as we didn't have enough eggs with 4 hens, so got 10 chicks just to be sure in case some didn't make it...all flourished, gave away one rooster...so that came to 9 hens.

Ooooh...got too many Buff Orpingtons in that batch.. go to the chicken swap to sell 3 of those outright but trade for 3 instead (NHR, Black Star, Gold Star). Still 9 hens.

Okay, new spring, simply must keep refreshing the flock you know, and we were needing more eggs as daughter was on a special gluten free allergy diet and the one thing she could eat plenty of was eggs, so that spring added 6 more sex linked chicks so no more effort wasted on roosters we'd have to re-home. Set up the heat lamp in the garage to watch better (????)....that made 15 chickens. Hubby builds 2nd coop.

Sell 3 Buff Orpingtons to purchase Silkie because I want to brood "naturally" for next spring as how dumb is a heat lamp left on all the time in the garage!!!!... because, you know, you have to refresh the flock. Come home with Silkie AND 2 Wellsummer/RIR mixes as told good layers. Number still 15....but I never count the Silkie as she is the "brooding hen" not a layer.

Good friend likes what she sees in my yard and starts a little backyard flock but a raccoon kills 2 of them broad daylight in front of her...she calls crying and asks me if I could take last remaining 2 hens who are huddled in fear as we speak...what could I say NO??? Of course not, add 2 rescue hens...now 17 (but remember that's only 16 hens as the Silkie is for BROODING and doesn't count).

Lost one of the rescues to odd respiratory disease that no one else gets. Down to 15 again (remember the Silkie doesn't count...she's just for brooding)...but if you must,,, uhm 16???

Hawk nails 1 hen. Netting goes up. Hen number is now down to 14 (remember Silkie doesn't count...and I only wanted 9...14 is closer to 9)...but if you must, now 15 hens.

February comes and Silkie goes broody, and you know, you have to refresh the laying flock Since I didn't have much faith that a hen could actually hatch a chick, I put 5 mutt eggs under the Silkie just to see if this was going to work. 3 eggs were viable and hatched...all pullets...flourished...but you know...they were mutts. Uhm...I think that's up to 18 now??? (er...17 as you know the Silkie doesn't count.)

Daughter is getting married and will move to a farm...says she THINKS she would like some of the chickens...decide to give oldest 4 layers (still laying good) and 1 mutt as a "farm warming" gift. But before they go, I simply can't let my egg count go down, I have friends who count on me and my eggs, and you know, you must refresh the flock, so hurry and purchase 2 six month old Wynadottes (only wanted 1) and 2 six month old Delawares (only wanted 1)....okay...math here...I think that goes up to 21 hens....daughter thankfully DOES take 5...so now down to 17 hens (but remember, the Silkie doesn't count)

Oh no, viral infection goes through flock! (Likely infectious bronchitis)!!!! Lose 1 Barred Rock hen. Down to 16,. er 17, or is that 15????...rest survive (and are regaining their old vigor) but laying is still down...and who knows how well they will lay again????? Oh dear, must have eggs, and you must refresh the flock you know....3 hens suddenly go broody (the Black Star and Wellsummers but NOT the Silkie mind you) and feed store just happens to have 14 fresh fertile eggs of pure breds that somebody backed out on sitting on the counter...Yup...they are under hens as we speak.

Oh dear...I've lost count in the math....

Whose beaks are in the coop????

2 Black Star, 4 Gold Star, 1 Barred Rock, 2 Wellsummer mix, 2 pullet mutts, 2 Buff Wynadottes, 2 Delawares, 1 Silkie (who remember doesn't count), and an assortment of fertilized eggs about half are developing for hatching next week...because you know, you must refresh the flock.

Lady of McCamley

 

[NosiphoChooks]

Okay here's my chicken math...and honestly it is fuzzy...

Wanted 4 chicks, got 4 chicks, 4 years ago...oh no...the chicken coop burned down in winter...lost all hens and all sense of math.

Badly disappointed, hubby sweetly rebuilds the coop. Spring chicks arrive at the feed store. We decided 6 chickens would be better as we didn't have enough eggs with 4 hens, so got 10 chicks just to be sure in case some didn't make it...all flourished, gave away one rooster...so that came to 9 hens.

Ooooh...got too many Buff Orpingtons in that batch.. go to the chicken swap to sell 3 of those outright but trade for 3 instead (NHR, Black Star, Gold Star). Still 9 hens.

Okay, new spring, simply must keep refreshing the flock you know, and we were needing more eggs as daughter was on a special gluten free allergy diet and the one thing she could eat plenty of was eggs, so that spring added 6 more sex linked chicks so no more effort wasted on roosters we'd have to re-home. Set up the heat lamp in the garage to watch better (????)....that made 15 chickens. Hubby builds 2nd coop.

Sell 3 Buff Orpingtons to purchase Silkie because I want to brood "naturally" for next spring as how dumb is a heat lamp left on all the time in the garage!!!!... because, you know, you have to refresh the flock. Come home with Silkie AND 2 Wellsummer/RIR mixes as told good layers. Number still 15....but I never count the Silkie as she is the "brooding hen" not a layer.

Good friend likes what she sees in my yard and starts a little backyard flock but a raccoon kills 2 of them broad daylight in front of her...she calls crying and asks me if I could take last remaining 2 hens who are huddled in fear as we speak...what could I say NO??? Of course not, add 2 rescue hens...now 17 (but remember that's only 16 hens as the Silkie is for BROODING and doesn't count).

Lost one of the rescues to odd respiratory disease that no one else gets. Down to 15 again (remember the Silkie doesn't count...she's just for brooding)...but if you must,,, uhm 16???

Hawk nails 1 hen. Netting goes up. Hen number is now down to 14 (remember Silkie doesn't count...and I only wanted 9...14 is closer to 9)...but if you must, now 15 hens.

February comes and Silkie goes broody, and you know, you have to refresh the laying flock Since I didn't have much faith that a hen could actually hatch a chick, I put 5 mutt eggs under the Silkie just to see if this was going to work. 3 eggs were viable and hatched...all pullets...flourished...but you know...they were mutts. Uhm...I think that's up to 18 now??? (er...17 as you know the Silkie doesn't count.)

Daughter is getting married and will move to a farm...says she THINKS she would like some of the chickens...decide to give oldest 4 layers (still laying good) and 1 mutt as a "farm warming" gift. But before they go, I simply can't let my egg count go down, I have friends who count on me and my eggs, and you know, you must refresh the flock, so hurry and purchase 2 six month old Wynadottes (only wanted 1) and 2 six month old Delawares (only wanted 1)....okay...math here...I think that goes up to 21 hens....daughter thankfully DOES take 5...so now down to 17 hens (but remember, the Silkie doesn't count)

Oh no, viral infection goes through flock! (Likely infectious bronchitis)!!!! Lose 1 Barred Rock hen. Down to 16,. er 17, or is that 15????...rest survive (and are regaining their old vigor) but laying is still down...and who knows how well they will lay again????? Oh dear, must have eggs, and you must refresh the flock you know....3 hens suddenly go broody (the Black Star and Wellsummers but NOT the Silkie mind you) and feed store just happens to have 14 fresh fertile eggs of pure breds that somebody backed out on sitting on the counter...Yup...they are under hens as we speak.

Oh dear...I've lost count in the math....

Whose beaks are in the coop????

2 Black Star, 4 Gold Star, 1 Barred Rock, 2 Wellsummer mix, 2 pullet mutts, 2 Buff Wynadottes, 2 Delawares, 1 Silkie (who remember doesn't count), and an assortment of fertilized eggs about half are developing for hatching next week...because you know, you must refresh the flock.

Lady of McCamley

Haha!

 

[SunnySkies]

Wanted: 6 hens and a roo.

Started with 17 bantams given to me. silkies, Cochins of several colors.
Hatched several hatches, resulting in 21 roosters at one point! With no pullets from my hatches, not one. Mixed breed and Swedish Flower Hens
Butchered roos. Something ate one. We still have 10 roos, but most are bantam. I have 2 I want to rehome for sure, maybe another 3, with 2 more destined for freezer camp when they are bigger. My goal is just 2 Silkie roosters, 3 Cochin roosters (different colors) and 2 SFH roo.
Bought some more chicks, sexed this time, so we could get some decent sized eggs. they are still growing out.

I think we are up to 30?

Plus two ducks. My oldest son wants to raise ducks.

I am planning to buy some more Swedish Flower Hens in the spring.

And so far, NO EGGS.

Moderate case, I think.

I now have to adjust my case. The pullets grew out, but one turned out to be yet another rooster. But they started laying eggs, so I put some in the incubator to see if any are fertile, and they are due to hatch next week.

I ordered chicks from Greenfire Farms, not once, not twice, but three times. I now have the first Swedish Flower Hen flock in my state, with 25 birds, more or less, but...I still have all the others, except for one brave rooster who died saving everyone else from a predator a few weeks ago and two roosters I gave away to a fellow breeder. Plus the chicks that hatched in May. And the eggs being sat on now. And the incubator eggs. And some chicks I drove 4 hours to get a couple weeks ago. And the chicks I'm picking up tonight.


We bought some female ducks.
I lost count. I think that means I no longer have a case, right?

I did have a neighbor up here asking just how many roosters I have. Lucky for me, I have a right to farm clause and thus nobody can complain!

 

[Chikenbutwut]

Let's see, I originally wanted like 8 pullets. We decided on bantams. Hubby wanted them and daughter wanted them, plus we like yolks more than whites and heard bantam eggs have more yolk than white. That and being small, they'd be easier for my daughter to handle and perhaps show at the fair if she chose to. Ordered 2 of each sexed breed from My Pet Chicken (2 to account for any DOAs, later losses or wrongly sexed chicks)...Welsummers, barred Rocks, EEs and mille fleur d'Uccles. Still wanted Rhode Island Reds, BLR Wyandottes and porcelain d'Uccles though, so ordered them through Purely Poultry, but of course, these would be straight run. Their minimum is 15, and figured ordering 5 of each breed would raise my chances of getting pullets, so there's 15 more chicks, so much for 8. Later turns out they were out of BLRWs and porcelains, so substituted with blue and columbian Wyandottes. Was really bummed about not being able to get the porcelains though and didn't really feel like putting in yet another order from somewhere else to get them. Purely Poultry chicks arrive happy and healthy, but for one DOA. Take a trip to a different feed store than usual a couple of wks. later to compare dog food prices and check out what they have. Big mistake. Turns out they had some miscellaneous breed bantams. Most were feather legged, but for one. Feather legged chicks looked like Cochins and hubby liked the reddish one, daughter liked the black and white ones and me, well, I liked them all, lol! Ended up getting 3 black and white and one reddish set of chicks which I believe are Cochins, and there was that one tiny clean legged chick peeping it's little head off when the Cochins (?) were taken out, so I had to have that one too...think that one may be an OEGB, but don't know. Now I'm waiting on the shipment of chicks to come in from My Pet Chicken, which should be here sometime around the 17th. Well, hubby went down to our local co-op yesterday to pick up some more Chick Starter and guess what? It turns out one of the ladies there has porcelain d'Uccles, sooo...may add those to the list too, LOL!

Don't know where this puts me on the chicken math scale, but so far everyone who knows about my chick adventure thinks I'm insane, lol!